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a
Creighton University School of Medicine, Abstract
Omaha, NE, USA, bMayo Clinic Hospital, Gardner-Diamond syndrome (GDS) is a rare psychodermatological condition characterized
Phoenix, AZ, USA, and cDivision of
by the formation of spontaneous, painful skin lesions that develop into ecchymosis
Hematology/Oncology, Creighton University
School of Medicine, Omaha, NE, USA
following episodes of severe physiological or psychological stress. The majority of GDS
cases occur in young adult females, and although the etiology of this rare disorder is
Correspondence unknown, there appears to be a psychological component correlated with the coexistence
Megan E. Block, BS of previous psychiatric diagnoses. Due to the rare nature of this disorder, there exist few
Creighton University School of Medicine
guidelines for prompt clinical diagnosis and optimal treatment. Here, a systematic review
2500 California Plaza
was conducted to include 45 cases of patients with GDS to better understand clinical
Omaha, NE
USA presentation as well as current treatment options. Ultimately, GDS is a diagnosis of
E-mail: meganblock@creighton.edu exclusion after other coagulopathies and causes of purpura are ruled out. High clinical
suspicion following laboratory and clinical exclusion of known physiological causes is
Funding: None. necessary for diagnosis. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and corticosteroids
Conflicts of interest disclosure: None
are cost effective first line treatments for GDS with proven efficacy in symptomatic relief.
declared.
Human and animal rights: This study does
GDS refractory to initial treatment may require regular psychotherapy and titrated SSRI
not involve human or animal subjects dosages to achieve long-term success. This review of available case studies serves to
comprehensively describe the clinical presentation and available treatment approaches to
doi: 10.1111/ijd.14235 this rare psychodermatological disorder.
lesions will progress to ecchymoses. An intradermal injection of the United States of America, India (N = 7), Turkey (N = 5),
saline is often done as well to act as a control in which no and Canada (N = 5) were the other major contributors of case
lesions should develop. Though the pathogenesis of GDS is reports.
unclear, studies have suggested GDS involves an autosensiti-
zation to the phosphoglyceride component of the red blood cell Clinical presentation
membrane. An atypical organization of erythrocyte phos- The clinical presentation of available patient data favored a dra-
phatidylserine on the cell membrane of red blood cells has also matic female predominance, with 43 female patients (96%) and
been indicated in GDS cases. This elicits a response to the only two male patients (4%). The mean patient age was
autologous washed erythrocyte injection. Although GDS gener- 24.3 years with ages ranging from 7 to 50 years. Patient race
ally presents with a positive reaction to this test, there are and ethnicity were not reported in the majority of cases. Perti-
cases of GDS in which no reaction occurs to the injection.9 nent past medical history included 10 cases of menstrual irregu-
Thus, in all cases patient history and physical examination need larities and three cases of hysterectomy. Menstrual problems
to be looked at closely for a correct diagnosis to be made. reported were amenorrhea, menorrhagia, and irregular menstru-
Due to the rarity of this condition, there currently is no con- ation. Hysterectomies in the patients were due to metrorrhagia.
sensus on optimal treatment of GDS. The typical treatment Sixteen of the patients (36%) reported a history of physical
modalities focus on the psychological component of the disorder trauma (N = 6) or surgery (N = 10) immediately before the
and include selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), cor- onset of GDS symptoms. A number of patients also had a past
ticosteroids, tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), and psychother- medical history of urinary tract (N = 4) or gastrointestinal
apy. Treatment is typically successful when aimed at resolving (N = 8) problems. Urinary tract problems included pyelonephri-
underlying psychiatric issues and supportive measures for the tis, cystitis, and urinary incontinence. Gastrointestinal problems
dermatological manifestations. Overall, a positive correlation included abdominal colic, gastritis, and intestinal fistula. Thirty-
between psychological improvement and resolution of symp- two of the patient cases (71%) reported psychiatric findings
toms has been observed.7,9 The goal of this study is to review along with the symptoms presented. Of the psychiatric findings,
and methodically analyze the present literature to better under- most individuals had a past or current diagnosis of depression
stand the clinical presentation of GDS and examine current (N = 22). The other psychological disorders found through psy-
treatment options and their efficacy for patients affected by chological evaluations and history taking were anxiety (N = 7),
GDS. mixed anxiety depression (N = 2), personality disorder (N = 2),
conversion disorder (N = 2), bipolar disorder (N = 1), and
obsessive-compulsive disorder (N = 1).
Methods
In addition to psychological disorders, psychological and
The National Library of Medicine’s PubMed database was sys- physiological stressors experienced by the patient are also
tematically searched up to December 2017. The following linked with the development of GDS. Thirty-four patients (76%)
search terms were used: “Gardner Diamond Syndrome”, “GDS”, had stressors in their lives leading up to the occurrence of the
“psychogenic purpura”, “auto-erythrocyte sensitization syn- ecchymotic episode seen at presentation. The most common
drome”, combined with “ecchymoses”, “psychological”, and was home life conflict (N = 15), which included marital or paren-
“treatment.” The full text of potentially relevant articles were tal conflicts at home. Death of a family member (N = 5) and
retrieved for review after screening titles and abstracts for pos- health issues of a family member (N = 5) were also frequent
sible inclusion. The articles for this review were selected based stressors found in the cases reported. Stressors such as abuse
on the following criteria: the article must be in English, only (N = 4), abortion (N = 4), being an adopted child (N = 3), and
report cases involving primary human subjects, include a diag- alcoholism (N = 3) were reported as well. Although not all
nosis of GDS, and discuss treatment for each case. Articles that patients presenting with GDS had an underlying psychological
did not meet inclusion criteria were excluded from review. disorder, the cases revealed 42 patients (93%) had either a
psychiatric finding or a serious life stressor experienced before
the onset of GDS symptoms. Table 1 summarizes the pertinent
Results
psychiatric history and catalog of life stressor triggers for
The initial search of PubMed provided 155 articles. The titles patients with GDS.2,3,7–34
and abstracts were screened after which a full text of 54 articles All patients presented with painful ecchymoses on various
were chosen for review. Based on completion of the full text aspects of the body. The most common site of the painful
review, 24 articles were excluded because of failure to meet cri- ecchymoses was the lower extremities (N = 30; 67%), which
teria. Ultimately, 30 articles were included in this literature included the knees, thighs, and feet. The upper extremities
review, comprised of 45 patient cases of GDS. All included arti- were the second most common site (N = 20; 44%), which
cles were case reports (N = 30) with the vast majority of cases included the arms, forearms, and hands. The torso, back, neck,
reported in the United States of America (N = 21). Following forehead, cheeks, and periorbital area were other, less
Table 1 Psychiatric history and life stressor events of Table 2 Clinical presentation of patients with Gardner-
patients with Gardner-Diamond syndrome Diamond syndrome (N = 45)
(N = 21), SSRIs (N = 9), corticosteroids (N = 8), and TCAs hydrochloride 150 mg/day was prescribed resulting in the
(N = 7) were the most frequently used treatment modalities. depressive symptoms subsiding, and, subsequently, the bruises
Additional treatment options were antihistamines (N = 4), ben- disappeared. The patient remained symptom-free for a 6-week
zodiazepines (N = 3), immunosuppressive drugs (N = 5), and period, prompting the discontinuation of the desipramine
reassurance therapy (N = 5). hydrochloride. Following treatment discontinuation, depressive
Successful treatment outcomes were reported in 34 of the symptoms reoccurred along with the ecchymotic bruising, and
patient cases (81%). Successful outcomes are defined as the patient was ultimately successful with initiation of amitripty-
improved symptoms during episodes, disappearance of lesions, line hydrochloride 300 mg qid. GDS lesions and depression
or no recurrence of lesions at follow-up. Three cases did not improved while on amitriptyline, and 10 months later, the patient
report posttreatment status of patients. However, of the eight remained depression and ecchymoses free.3
patient cases that did not have a beneficial outcome to treat- In another patient case described by C € ksoy et al., a
ß elik-Go
ment, less than half (N = 3) involved a treatment modality direc- patient diagnosed with GDS and depression was prescribed esc-
ted toward treating psychological symptoms. Of the 34 patient italopram 5 mg/day, which eventually increased to 10 mg/day.
cases that showed improvement, 30 of them included an SSRI, Once on escitalopram depressive symptoms gradually
TCA, psychotherapy, or reassurance therapy (88%). The SSRIs decreased leading to pharmacological cessation after 5 months.
given for treatment were escitalopram, citalopram, and sertra- Four weeks after discontinuation of escitalopram, the patient
line. Patients prescribed an SSRI for treatment of symptoms experienced another episode of GDS, and a psychiatric evalua-
had a 100% success rate. TCAs for treatment included desipra- tion demonstrated subclinical depressive symptoms. The patient
mine and amitriptyline. The success rate in which TCAs were was started on escitalopram once again, which was used contin-
used in treatment was 71%. Lastly, the success rate for talk uously for 2 years. During this 2-year period, the patient exhib-
therapy, which includes psychotherapy and reassurance ther- ited no recurrent GDS episodes, and at a 12-month follow-up
apy, was 96%. Overall, when management used an SSRI, after stopping escitalopram, she still remained symptom free.10
TCA, or talk therapy, the success rate was 91%. In contrast, The patient case described by Uthman et al., demonstrates
when management did not use those treatment modalities, the the role of stressors in the development of GDS. The patient
success rate dropped to 44%. For successful treatment of was reported to have a 3-year history of depression due to mar-
GDS, directing the treatment at the psychological stress experi- ital problems and subsequently had been on antidepressants.
enced by the patient appears to be necessary. Table 3 summa- Her lesions were treated with prednisone orally over a 2-week
rizes the treatment modalities utilized in GDS patients and their period. Upon receiving this treatment, the patient’s lesions grad-
corresponding success rates.2,3,7–34 ually resolved. However, the physical symptoms of GDS
Examples with successful treatment outcomes after targeting recurred about once a month for 4 months. Only after the
psychological therapy included a patient case reported by Set- patient got a divorce was she symptom-free for 6 months. It
tle, 1983. After being diagnosed with GDS with comorbid appears that, although corticosteroids improved symptoms, tak-
depression, the patient was treated with once-a-week psy- ing away the stressor ultimately was what allowed the symp-
chotherapy. Within 3 weeks, the patient experienced depressive toms to disappear without reoccurrence.11
symptoms and the GDS lesions appeared again. Desipramine
seen with GDS, patients regularly report associated symptoms experienced by the patient.9 The most successful treatment
of headaches, nausea, abdominal pain, arthralgia, and myal- modalities have been found to be psychotherapy, reassurance
gia.1–3 Diagnosis is often difficult to make in these patients as therapy, SSRIs, and TCAs. Oftentimes there is a combined
GDS is a rare disorder and typically represents a diagnosis of therapy, and it is not uncommon to add corticosteroids into the
exclusion. Because patients present with spontaneous purpura treatment regimen for the patient.12 Other experimental treat-
and ecchymoses, differential diagnosis includes conditions such ments that have been tried are immunosuppressive drugs and
as idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, factor XIII deficiency, benzodiazepines, but success rates were highest in cases
Henoch-Schonlein purpura, or von Willebrand disease.9 Female where the patient is given additional SSRIs or TCAs in conjunc-
patients that present with multiple ecchymoses and complaints tion with these therapies. It has been noted that as psychiatric
of pain should also be screened thoroughly for domestic vio- symptoms start to subside, so do the physical GDS symptoms.
lence and abuse. Only after thorough history and laboratory Therefore, to provide patients with GDS with the best outcome,
workup can a correct diagnosis of GDS be made. it is recommended to aim management towards treating the
GDS is a condition closely correlated with psychological and psychological component that presents alongside dermatologi-
physiological stress. Patients typically have a comorbid psychi- cal physical presentation.15
atric disorder or a severe stressor that triggers the initial epi- In addition to directing treatment at the psychological factors
sode of GDS. Thus, in the formal diagnosis of GDS, it is a of this disorder, certain supportive treatments may also be
necessity to obtain a complete history from the patient as well added to relieve the dermatological symptoms of these patients.
as a psychiatric evaluation. Depression is the most common These symptomatic therapy options have been met with varying
comorbid psychiatric disorder seen in GDS patients, but outcomes but include corticosteroids, antihistamines, immuno-
patients also have been reported to suffer from anxiety, person- suppressive drugs, and hormonal contraceptives. These treat-
ality disorder, conversion disorder, bipolar disorder, or obses- ments may provide symptom relief in patients, but they have
sive-compulsive disorder.3,5,6 The lesions seen in GDS typically not been shown to be effective in controlling GDS manifesta-
develop spontaneously after a stressful event or psychiatric tions.12,36 Thus, therapy for the dermatological component may
12
symptoms arise. Because the link between the clinical presen- provide symptomatic management while in combination with
tation of GDS and psychiatric undertones is so close, history disease modifying treatment for the psychological symptoms to
and psychiatric evaluation must not be overlooked in making a provide the patient with the most optimal outcome.
correct diagnosis.
Since GDS diagnosis is largely a diagnosis of exclusion, lab- Questions (answers provided after
oratory values must be obtained to exclude any hematological references)
disorders or autoimmune disorders. Thus, laboratory values
must be within normal ranges in GDS patients. Thorough labo- 1 In making a correct diagnosis of GDS, physical examination
ratory evaluation includes CBC, ESR, platelet count, BT, PT, and thorough history taking is sufficient enough, true or
PTT, CRP, direct and indirect Coombs test, antinuclear anti- false?
body, antidouble-stranded DNA, complement levels, and 2 Estrogen is thought to play a role in the development of
rheumatoid factor.7,13 In addition to laboratory values, the data GDS, true or false?
have shown that biopsy of the ecchymotic lesions for examina- 3 The majority of patients with GDS present with painful ecchy-
tion of the common histological changes seen with GDS is help- moses on the extremities of the body, true or false?
ful in aiding formal diagnosis. Typical histological results include 4 Data analysis showed that less than half of patients with
perivascular infiltrate of lymphocytes or neutrophils, extravasa- GDS were reported to have a current or past diagnosis of a
tion of erythrocytes into the dermis, and evidence of dermal and psychological disorder, true or false?
subcutaneous hemorrhages.7,14,35 These histologic changes are 5 Among the treatment modalities for GDS patients, SSRIs and
not sufficient enough to confirm a diagnosis of GDS but can talk therapy had the best success rates, true or false?
help guide the differential diagnosis in the correct direction. 6 Being the gold standard for diagnosis of GDS, if a patient has
However, the gold standard for diagnosis is the intradermal no reaction to an intradermal injection with autologous
injection with autologous washed erythrocytes. The vast major- washed erythrocytes, the patient does not have GDS, true or
ity of patients with GDS have a positive reaction to the intrader- false?
mal injection in which they will develop ecchymotic lesions after 7 Without a psychological disorder, severe stressors experi-
being injected with their own red blood cells. Few cases will be enced by the patient can still trigger an episode of GDS in a
nonreactive to this test, which necessitates greater emphasis patient, true or false?
on history and physical examination to correctly diagnose the 8 Corticosteroids and immunosuppressive drugs have been
patient with GDS.9 shown to provide symptomatic relief for GDS patients, but
GDS has a good prognosis when treatment is guided they have not been shown to effectively control GDS mani-
towards resolving the psychological symptoms or stress festations, true or false?
9 More than one-third of GDS patients experienced physical 17 Go€zdasßog lu S. Autoerythrocyte sensitization syndrome treated
trauma or surgery before the onset of symptoms seen at with kallikrein inhibitor. Turk J Haematol 2013; 30: 96–97.
18 Sawant NS, Singh DA. Antidepressant-induced remission of
clinical presentation, true or false?
gardner diamond syndrome. Indian J Psychol Med 2012; 34:
10 Long-term prognosis for GDS patients is not dependent on 388–390.
aiming treatment towards resolving the psychological symp- 19 Mehta J, Dhurat RS, Jerajani HR, et al. Autoerythrocyte
toms or stress experienced by the patient, true or false? sensitization syndrome: a form of painful purpura with positive
intracutaneous test. Br J Dermatol 2004; 150: 768.
20 Vivekanandh K, Dash G, Mohanty P. Gardner diamond
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